1856 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 10 June 1856.[1][2] In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the result was a victory for the Catholics, who won 63 of the 108 seats.[2] Voter turnout was 60.6%, although only 43,573 people were eligible to vote.

1856 Belgian general election

← 1854 10 June 1856 (1856-06-10) 1857 →

54 of the 108 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
55 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Pierre de Decker Charles Rogier
Party Catholic Liberal
Seats before 54 seats 54 seats
Seats won 33 21
Seats after 63 45
Seat change Increase 9 Decrease 9
Popular vote 15,168 12,472
Percentage 54.88% 45.12%

Government before election

de Decker
Catholic-Liberal

Government after election

de Decker
Catholic-Liberal

Under the alternating system, Chamber elections were only held in four out of the nine provinces: East Flanders, Hainaut, Liège and Limburg. Thus, 54 of the 108 Chamber seats were up for election.

Results

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Chamber of Representatives

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PartyVotes%Seats
WonTotal+/–
Catholics15,16854.883363+9
Liberal Party12,47245.122145–9
Total27,640100.00541080
Total votes27,640
Registered voters/turnout45,57360.65
Source: Mackie & Rose,[3] Sternberger et al.

References

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  1. ^ Codebook Constituency-level Elections Archive, 2003
  2. ^ a b Sternberger, D, Vogel, B & Nohlen, D (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band I: Europa - Erster Halbband, p105
  3. ^ Thomas T. Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, p46